Stuck for inspiration on how to entertain the kids this half term? After some Halloween hacks beyond the usual? Then look no further...
We’ve pulled together our best Bundle Bed knowledge and a few treats from other scarily good small businesses, to bring you a ghoul-proof guide to hosting the best spooky sleepovers known to kids (and grown-ups). Read on for all the sleepover essentials you should be scared to be without this Halloween.
1 - Get imaginations whirring with some creepy crafts
Keep them busy before bedtime with some crafty fun. Cotton Twist’s Halloween Collection Activity Packs are just the ticket. From crafting their own creepy costumes to spider web keyrings you’ll ignite their imaginations, and the best bit; they’ll be creating their own props for hours of spooky play.
2 - Brew up some easy kitchen magic to avoid the sugar rush
Halloween doesn’t have to mean sugar overload. It’s amazing how easily satsumas can become pumpkins and bananas can become ghosts. You’ll have your kids believing you’re a real-life witch with the easiest of culinary magic. Check out this amazing platter from @liddierowl for inspiration, using Cake Decor Edible Eyes.
3 - Ply them with the elixir of sleep: fresh air
Get outside for spooky den-building, hide and seek and bucket loads of fresh air to tire them out. We love The Den Kit Co Potion Making Set for an extra thread of creepiness to stir up a witch's brew!
4 - Build a camp fire and keep them toasty
While you’re out, the Mallow Makers have created these spooktacular Halloween Toasting sets – the perfect gooey accompaniment to ghost stories around a camp fire.
5 - Give them a warming treat with a ghostly addition
When you finally return to the witches lair (aka home), warm them up with a wicked hot chocolate from Craft & Crumb. They have awesome Hot Chocolate Party Bags which the kids will love. Making and drinking them is an activity in itself - especially if you get an edible marker pen and turn the marshmallows into ghosts! 👻
6 - Transform the witching hours with a witch’s bath time
Add a dash of food colouring, some string foam and a few toy spiders, frogs and toads to the bath and abracadabra, you transform the bath into a witch’s cauldron. And the best bit? The witching hours become spookily-fun instead of sanity-testing!
7 - Bat away the bedtime battles with Halloween PJs
Avoid the battle of getting them out of fancy dress at bedtime by making their PJs part of the costume. The Bright Company do these amazing Bat PJs that are super soft and super fun. Don’t worry, despite their name, they aren’t actually nocturnal!
8 - Snuggle up with Tonies
Get the party started with twenty of the spookiest, creepiest and most danceable Halloween tunes, with the Toniebox. They’re creepy and they’re kooky, mysterious and spooky…
And then when it's time for bed, pop on Room on the Broom for a bedtime story that will still add a little bit of spook, without the scare. We've always loved audiobooks as an end to the bedtime routine, and this witch tale is a perfect way to add the calm after the storm.
9 - Give them the best night’s sleep with Bundle Beds (this is the least scary bit)
We know that for most grown-ups, the scariest thing about hosting a sleepover is the part where the kids don’t sleep. This is where Bundle Beds come in. Unlike creaky camp beds and sofa cushions that swallow kids whole, Bundle Beds have been designed to put the sleep firmly back into sleepovers. With their self-inflating mattresses, warm duvet and jersey cotton sheets they are the perfect all-in-one children’s sleepover beds. So however spooky things get, Bundle Beds will cushion you from the nightmare of no sleep the next day.
9 and ¾ - Get them counting stars, not sheep
With their waterproof underlayer, you can grab your Bundle Beds and unroll them out in the garden for some sleep-inducing star gazing and spooky story-telling before lights out.
What are your favourite traditions for Halloween? Please let me know in an email or on Instagram – and do send over any pics of your spooky sleepovers, we love seeing them!
And if you're off on a trip with half term, take a look at these top sleep tips when travelling as a family, or these easy games to play with kids on a long car journey might just take the edge off a long trip!